Alexandra Stevenson: From Wimbledon Qualifier to Semifinalist; where is she now?

Alexandra Stevenson’s 1999 Wimbledon Run Remains a Vivid Memory

by Nicholas McCarvel/The New York Times

Alexandra Stevenson/Gary M. Prior

WIMBLEDON, England — Alexandra Stevenson is sure she had to wear three pairs of socks to fit into the men’s tennis shoes she borrowed from her coach during qualifying at Wimbledon in 1999, the year she reached the semifinals.

Stevenson was a news media sensation when she made her Wimbledon run in 1999, at 18, three weeks out of high school. She is the only woman to have won eight matches, including qualifying, at Wimbledon. But Stevenson also had a secret: Her father was Julius Erving, a detail not revealed to the news media until the second week of the tournament.

Dear Ms. Stevenson,

A belated congratulations for that run which many are just getting to know. Thanks to the All England Club for always showing it is more than a cut above the rest in the way they treat their competitors: past or present, winners and losers, champions, stars … You are no footnote but a young lady whose chances were very limited by her background.

Rather than aim for a crown in tennis, wear the achievement you had with pride while competing at whatever level you are still able to. There are many young ones with talents as massive as you once had out there these days, and rather than dwell on what might have been which is the path you are on right now, keep your ties to the tennis world and find ways to help those in the position you were in back when. There are many in the world who, for one reason or another, never reach their full potentials. It’s partly luck of the draw.